Written Tuesday, July 1, 2008.
Tell about any ancestors you know about. Any stories about them.
"I don't know about some of them, but I'll tell you about Grandma's mother, Priscilla Parrish Roundy. When she was crossing the plains with her family, her responsibility was to keep track of the milk cow and help push the handcart. She was about 10 years old.
"When the group could stop to rest, the ladies would knit gloves and socks. Priscilla found 2 sticks and rubbed them together until they were smooth. With a rock she made the ends quite pointed so she could learn to knit.
"One day, when she was pulling the handcart with her father, he said, "Priscilla, last Christmas we were in no position to have Christmas. I think things will be different this year. If you could get anything you wanted, what would it be?"
"She thought for a while and said she would like to have a needle.
"When I heard the story about Great Grandmother Priscilla, I thought how selfish we are.
"Well, her father found a hard bone and with his pocket knife he filed and filed until it was smooth and pointed at one end. Then he carefully made a hole in the other end for the thread to go through. He wrapped it in just some old paper and kept it in his coat pocket until they reached the Salt Lake Valley. When Christmas came, she was so excited about her needle, she cried.
This story has always touched me, and Bill knew how I felt about it. So! Guess what I got for Christmas that year. You guessed it. A needle he had made of bone. I will cherish it forever."
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